Vegan Strawberry Heart Thumbprint Cookies
It’s been a long day at work and I’ve been in need of intense r&r. I initially planned on making these cookies to celebrate Valentine’s Day but I’m glad I found time to do them over the weekend. These cookies took me back to why I love baking so much. Part destress and part creativity. The dough was simple and familiar enough for me to go through the motions without having to think too much. Followed by rolling and shaping which felt not far-off from my play-doh days. The best part? Getting to bite into melt-in-your mouth butter cookies after baking, saving the little jammy heart center for last.
This is a great recipe to do with other people. In fact, I require you to try it with someone. Whether it’s a friend, a sister, your partner, your kids, pull them into it. It’s just more fun this way plus the task goes by so much quicker with more hands. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find that baking with the person you love is your love language.
How to make Strawberry Heart Thumbprint Cookies
These strawberry heart thumbprint cookies start with a classic albeit veganized shortbread dough with a lot of butter to give it that melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich flavor. Before I start anything, I do want to say that I like making this a day in advanced because it’s more convenient for me and I prefer chilling the dough. But if you can’t wait a day for cookies, you can definitely makes this in under an hour.
Making the Dough: First, cream the butter and sugar together until light, fluffy and a pale yellow. I use a stand mixer but you can also use a hand mixer or the old-fashioned way. Then, pour in a dash of vanilla extract and almond extract. The almond extract is optional but it’s a nice touch and adds a subtle warm nutty flavor. Lastly, gently plop in your dry ingredients making sure your mixer is on low speed or off so you don’t get flour everywhere. (happened to me before and not a pretty picture). You want to make sure that you only mix the dough until just incorporated. There’s no need to add air or whip this dough so seeing a few flecks of flour is perfectly fine.
How to Prevent Dough from Cracking: Roll your dough firmly between your palms until smooth. I also noticed that there are less cracks if you flatten your dough right after rolling it into a ball. This is where having a second set of hands comes in useful so you can both alternate between rolling and flattening 🙂 If cracks do appear, patch them up by squeezing the dough back together. Although, there’s nothing wrong with cracks and the cookies taste and look great either way.
Make a Cute Heart: To get a perfect heart shape, I recommend using the back of a tiny spoon (see what I mean here). You can also use your pointer or pinky finger to press down on the dough. Making sure not to press down too deep or you might create a hole in the cookie.
Chill or No Chill: I vote for chill. It just gives added protection to prevent the cookies from spreading too much during baking. Keep in mind that I do live in a tropical country so there’s that. Usually, after making the heart indentations, I cover the pan and leave to chill in the fridge for 20 minutes or overnight. However, this is completely optional and the dough requires no chilling unless it’s very sticky/soft/absolutely melting. Like butter on toast melting type of situation.
Flavor Variations: I used homemade strawberry jam but you can use any fruit jam or even melted chocolate, your fave nut spread or dulce de leche. When using a homemade jam, make sure the consistency is on the firmer side to prevent any soggy cookies.
Just A Few More Tips
- Grab at least one more person to bake with you. Best tip and thing that you can do. It makes this even more fun to make and an even sweeter treat to share.
- Use good quality butter and vanilla This is one of those recipes where you will definitely taste what you put in so use the best ingredients that you can afford and find.
- When using vegan butter, go for the stick variety and not the spread or else your dough will have too much moisture, making it hard to work with.
- Use the same sized spoon for scooping your dough into balls. This makes sure all your cookies will bake evenly. You don’t want some very large underbaked cookies together with small baby burnt cookies.
- If your dough is sticky and wet, chill in the freezer for 5-10 minutes to firm up again. Avoid adding more flour which will affect the tenderness of the baked thumbprint cookie.
- These cookies can be made up to 2 days in advance and freeze well. If freezing, freeze the shaped and flattened dough in an airtight container. When ready to bake, thaw for an hour and bake according to the recipe. The frozen cookie dough will last up to 3 months while the baked cookies will last up to a week.
If you make these Vegan Strawberry Heart Thumbprint Cookies make sure leave a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how it went. Also tag me on instagram @unit1404 and hashtag #unit1404 so I can see and share your creations.
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Strawberry Heart Thumbprint Cookies
Ingredients
- 250 g (2 cups) all purpose flour ,sifted
- ½ tsp salt
- 100 g (½ cup) granulated sugar
- 160 g (¾ cup) vegan stick butter* ,room temperature
- 2 tbsp dairy free milk ,oat or soy is best
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp almond extract ,optional
- 78 g (¼ cup) strawberry jam ,or another type of jam or filling (see notes section in the post)
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar for sprinkling ,optional
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). Line 1 large or 2 medium sized baking trays with silpat or parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a hand mixer, cream the butter and granulated sugar until light, fluffy and a pale yellow. Add in the vanilla and almond extract if using then pour in the milk. Mix until just combined, around 30 seconds.
- Turn your mixer speed on low or off and add in the flour. Do not overmix. Using a 1 tablespoon measuring spoon, scoop out the dough and roll into balls. Flatten the dough until about ½ inch thick and use your finger or the back of a small spoon to make a criss cross shape on each cookie to create a heart.* Transfer each cookie to the prepared pan/s.
- If making these a day in advance, cover the tray with cling wrap and chill in the fridge overnight. If not chilling, proceed to add jam to each cookie.
- Add around ½ tsp of jam for each cookie, transfer the pan in the oven and bake for 13-15 minutes or until the edges have turned slightly golden. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve warm and enjoy!
